2018 Honda Fit Sport

The new Honda Fit sport doesn’t feature a turbocharger, track-tuned suspension or R-compound tires. A downsized Civic Type R it is not.

It is, however, a sportier take on the Fit, meaning an aero kit and glossy black wheels. We’ll turn to Honda for the complete description of this new sub-model:

“The new Fit Sport trim features an even more aggressive and sporty look with aero form features at the front, sides and rear, integrated fog lights, and a low and sharp front splitter highlighted in bright orange. An exclusive gloss-black finish on the 16-inch alloy wheels further adds to the sporty look. At the rear, a three-strake diffuser with bright orange upper trim line, chrome exhaust finisher and Sport badge complete the Fit Sport's distinct exterior styling.

“On the inside, the Fit Sport distinguishes itself with a black interior with unique cross-hatched fabric for the seats and door trim. The exterior's orange accent theme continues inside with bright orange stitching on the seats, console-mounted armrest, and leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob.”

I think I bought my 2008 for the same msrp back in August 2008.  It's still doing well with the second owner.  So it's interesting to see big "H" being able to stay ahead of inflation...

although, otoh, all that marketing speak sounds like:  "we made these minor visual tweaks to get two more years out of this design before a platform refresh"

i think it'd be real fun to take an L15B7 6-speed LSD'd Fit to OneLap... it mightcould keep up with the Fiestas... and easily swallow up track gear.  Maybe 2021?

In reply to sleepyhead :

It's also about the same as we paid for our '09 Fit Sport. It's at almost 190k, belongs to our daughter & son-in-law, and is in Germany with them. 

My wife got a new Fit sport about a month ago with the cvt.  Excellent little car and the cvt is actually fantastic in this application

malibuguy said:

My wife got a new Fit sport about a month ago with the cvt.  Excellent little car and the cvt is actually fantastic in this application

I was genuinely surprised to a find a stick shift in our test car. I didn't complain at all but was still surprised. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

It's about time you got something that you guys actually wanted to write about.  You had been getting some real duds for a while there, which led to reviews that...Shall we say...Left something to be desired. 

If the current Si uses an L15-based 1.5L turbo, could you mix and match your way into a 200hp never-was Fit Si?

Does it feel like less of a penalty box than a Versa Note does?

Also the base Mazda 3 hatchback is $2k more not inconsequential money but close. Does it offer anything that the base trim Mazda 3 would be lacking?

The Fit has always interested me, not on for the potential for a K24 swap, but because their owners tend to be zealots. I'm not sure if it's that good or if it's just confirmation bias.

Driven5 said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

It's about time you got something that you guys actually wanted to write about.  You had been getting some real duds for a while there, which led to reviews that...Shall we say...Left something to be desired. 

For the regular reviews, I admit, we get what it's in the regional press car queue. It could be a Civic Type R one week, an SUV the next, and then something unexpected. I can make requests, which I do for special features, but what you're seeing online does reflect the realities of that system. Also, for every Type R currently available, there's like a million "normal" cars. For the Fit, let's just say that a friend at Honda pulled a string for me while I was traveling. (It was the Fit or a minivan.)

This week we have a Benz E400 coupe. I am not complaining. 

The0retical said:

Does it feel like less of a penalty box than a Versa Note does?

Also the base Mazda 3 hatchback is $2k more not inconsequential money but close. Does it offer anything that the base trim Mazda 3 would be lacking?

The Fit has always interested me, not on for the potential for a K24 swap, but because their owners tend to be zealots. I'm not sure if it's that good or if it's just confirmation bias.

I wouldn't call the Fit a penalty box at all. It felt a bit more upmarket than its price would suggest. 

A friend of mine recently replaced an early Fit with a new one. 

always wanted an early fit w/a k swap

That interior looks like a really nice place to spend time.

The one you tested doesn't appear to have the HFP package, but does anyone know what the optional HFP Sport Suspension actually is?

NickD said:

If the current Si uses an L15-based 1.5L turbo, could you mix and match your way into a 200hp never-was Fit Si?

this is a very intresting concept

Glad to see a Fit getting some attention/love!!  I absolutely love mine.

Last year it was time to replace my beloved 2012 Kia Soul, the base model with the 1.6 and 6-speed manual.  The Soul is another car that is a lot more fun and capable than appearance and price would lead one to believe.  I'd rather have had one of the better trim levels with more creature comforts, but if you go for anything but the base model you can't have the manual gearbox. I don't do automatics, never have, never will. I really loved the Soul, it was an absolute blast to drive, and I put 145K miles on it, drove it like I stole it most of the time.  Such a happy little car, it just begged you to flog it harder and harder.  Never a single mechanical issue, rock solid.

The base model Soul is pretty Spartan.  No Bluetooth, no cruise control, no audio controls on the steering wheel.  About as basic as cars get these days.  Eventually the lack of amenities and creature comforts started to get pretty old. So I, somewhat reluctantly, began seeking a replacement.

Requirements were, low cost, manual gearbox, cruise control, 30+ MPG and a history of reliability.  It didn't take me long to  zero in on the Honda Fit as the most likely candidate.  I'd always liked the sporty look of the Fit, so I took the 1.5 mile drive to my local Honda Dealer to test drive one.

They had at least 15 on the lot, and not a single one had a manual gearbox.  WTF??  Well, I wasn't really looking to buy brand new anyway, so just for kicks I test drove one with the CVT automatic, just to get an idea about chassis and handling.  Acceleration and overall driving feel really suffered with the CVT, but I could tell that the chassis was tight and the handling really surprised me, very solid, tight and composed in the corners.  Felt like a more expensive car.

I let them know that I'd be interested if they ever got a low-mileage used one on the lot with a 6-speed, then I began searching for one on my own.....

Good lord!  It's not easy to find a used Fit of any mileage that has the manual gearbox!!  I'd just about given up hope when, about 6 months after my visit to the dealer, I get a call from them saying that they had found what I was looking for.  I left work a little early and drove over to check it out.

What they had was a CPO 2015 Fit EX in pearl white, not the color I'd have picked, but at least it wasn't black.  12K miles and almost flawless paint and interior.  5 min into the test drive and I knew that this was what I'd been looking for. I have to say, compared to the CVT I'd test driven, this 6-speed car felt like a completely different model altogether, the difference is striking. The price they were asking was actually pretty fair, I didn't haggle too hard but got a pretty decent deal anyway.

I've been driving it about 9 months now and I am beyond satisfied with my choice.  It feels faster than it is, the handling is far better than any car at this price has a right to be.  I'm a big fan of the whole "it's more fun to drive a slow car fast" thing and this little car just puts a big stupid grin on my face.  About the only thing that lets it down are the brakes, when you push them hard, they tend to fade, and the rotors warp.  Upgrading to better rotors and pads should fix that, there are decent drilled and slotted rotors available pretty cheap.  Those and some EBC pads are a no-brainer upgrade.  I'm getting about 33-34 MPG around town and almost 40 on the highway, and having a great time doing it.  It's MUCH more comfortable than my old Soul was, much quieter inside too.  The all touch-screen radio was a little annoying at first, but it works well and I got used to it pretty quick.  About the only other niggle I can come up with is that when it comes time for new tires, there isn;t a great selection in this, rather odd, size, and no one ever has any in stock, they will have to be ordered.  Thank goodness for TireRack.

All thing considered, I'm very pleased with this silly little car.  Kudos to Honda for still offering a manual gearbox in much of their lineup even in the higher trim levels.  I wish more manufacturers did the same.

mikedd969 said:

About the only other niggle I can come up with is that when it comes time for new tires, there isn;t a great selection in this, rather odd, size, and no one ever has any in stock, they will have to be ordered.  Thank goodness for TireRack.

Don't bother with the crap available in the 185/55-16 stock size...205/50-16 is the size you are looking for.

I kind of want to drive one of these to compare with my SX4 hatch.  The Fit's proportions are a bit odd to me, like they should be wider, especially at the rear.  I also like the SX4's lower beltline; the Fit's rear door glass especially looks too short.  I'm going to guess that overall chassis dynamics are better with the Fit, but if the kind of bouncy ride quality of the SX4 isn't coming into play, the Suzuki is pretty enjoyable to drive in a hurry.  In my personal estimation, of course.

Wait, what were we talking about?

In reply to Driven5 :

Good idea.  I'll probably do just that when the time comes.

In reply to Driven5 :

We always ran 195/50-16 Continental DWS. They were a good size for the car, and tackled all but the worst midwestern weather. 

I had an 07 Fit and pondering getting a 17 Fit 6 speed. I know the newer Fits are a little bigger in size and have a little more power. Do they drive and ride differently than the older ones?

In reply to dxman92 :

We have one of each generation in the family. The 09 Sport that we bought new is with our daughter & SIL now, and we picked up a '19 Sport last November. Our other daughter also has an 07 Sport that she bought about 3-years ago. All of them are automatics. 
 

The 19 drives a lot like the 09, but with more power. We've only put 3600-miles on it vs. the 09 where I was doing 100-300 miles per day, but so far it seems like the gas mileage is a little lower on the 19 than the 09. I'm ok with that trade off, as it still gets over 30mpg in town. 
 

The 09 had an annoying throttle lag on tip-in that fortunately is gone from the 19. However both the passenger side cup holder & second/top glove box are also missing from the 19. 
 

We paid less real money - not adjusted - for the 19 than we did for the 09, so I'd definitely call it a bargain. It's just a shame Honda chose not to bring us the 4th gen. 

dxman92 said:

I had an 07 Fit and pondering getting a 17 Fit 6 speed. I know the newer Fits are a little bigger in size and have a little more power. Do they drive and ride differently than the older ones?

The bloatation is actually really minimal, wheelbase went up but is still under 100 inches, length is only a couple inches longer (allegedly shorter than a second generation car) and weight is close to the same.  They do look enormous in comparison with all the added ugliness   

They do ride a little softer.  Honda caught some crap for how stiff the early Fits rode.  The engine makes something like 20% more power, which is much appreciated.

In reply to Driven5 :

I did the plus 0 on the front of the wifes fit when she had a damaged tire.  Got some mid level Nexens.  Drives well and you almost cannot tell it has a staggered jaydeeemm tire size set up

I test drove the 17 yesterday and the biggest noticable difference was the power. The 6 speed is a nice added touch as well. Everything else was standard Fit to me!

I ended up getting the 17 Fit and glad I did. The extra power is much appreciated and Mrs. DX feels that it is bigger than the 07 that I had when her and I first started dating.